What makes some of these local or global creatives tick? In this weekly column, Joint Artistic Director of Checkpoint Theatre, director and writer Huzir Sulaiman shares his favourite things.
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1. Telling Singapore stories: It’s the 20th Anniversary Season of Checkpoint Theatre, and it’s been great to look back at all the original Singapore work we’ve helped develop and produce, not just in the form of stage plays, but also as podcasts, online films, and comic books.
I’m very proud to advise on and oversee the creation of original work by dozens of artists. Singapore has so much talent, and so many stories to tell about the here and now.
Photo Credit: Mark Teo
2. The Art of Being a Grandmother: Our next publication is Dana Lam’s graphic novel, which I co-edited. The Art of Being a Grandmother: An Incomplete Diary of Becoming celebrates the gentle joys and challenges of grandparenthood, as seen through Dana’s poetic musings and vivid watercolour, charcoal, and ink art.
She has approached the discovery of this new stage in her life with grace and gumption, and I’m very excited for its launch in December.
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3. Claire Wong: My partner in life and art. We’ve been together since 2001. She’s brilliant, powerful, and an amazing director, writer, producer and actress, but she’s also hilarious and very kind.
I’m trying to get her to work less hard and take more time for herself.
4. Our dog: We finally got a dog after 20 years of wanting one, and it changed our lives. Sophie is a 7 month old Double Doodle, and is quite reserved and gentle, but has a goofy, rambunctious side.
Given that I take her down to pee or for a walk six times a day, and that I spend long stretches gazing at her when I should be answering emails, I’d say she qualifies as an obsession.
Photo Credit: Memphis West Pictures
5. Writing plays: I got lucky in that my first full-length play was a hit, and it set me on a journey. (Atomic Jaya (1998) is a satire on the making of the Malaysian atomic bomb, and is still staged and studied today). I always say that while writers are loners, playwrights are loners who hate to be alone!
So theatre, a very collaborative enterprise, is perfect for my unique combination of neuroses. Writing plays also gives you permission to keep asking questions about the world, and researching new things.
Photo Credit: Joel Lim at Calibre Pictures
6. Tailored clothing: I’ve had the same classic-but-not-conservative style since I was 16 — more than 30 years. I default to a coat and tie a lot of the time when I am in rehearsals, teaching playwriting at university, or out on the town, because it shows respect for the people you meet and the ideas of art and education.
It’s also timeless and sustainable: the other day I wore a suit made for me in 2007; shoes I bought in 2004; and a tie from 1990 that I originally wore to my high school graduation. Only the shirt and socks were new!
7. Dinner parties: I love having six or eight convivial guests over for a night of food, drink, and great conversation, which should by turns be vulnerable, clever, provocative, warm, and uproarious. I love learning things from people.
I set the table and arrange the ambiance. Claire plans the menu.
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8. Checkpoint Theatre’s play anthologies: I’m very proud of our play anthologies – they speak to the strong Singapore voices we have and make up the local canon of theatre that should be studied and revisited. A great example of this is Faith Ng’s Plays Volume 1, an anthology featuring a range of her works, including the critically acclaimed Normal (2015).
I’ve been especially fortunate to witness her playwriting journey as her playwriting teacher in NUS, her colleague at Checkpoint Theatre, and as a friend.
Once you’re done with this story, click here to catch up with our September 2022 issue!
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